Simple and Pretty Thank You Cards

So do you recognise the background 'stamp' for these cards? 

Truth be told, while there is some ink on these cards, I didn't use a single stamp.  For a quick and easy background I simple pressed my ink pad directly onto the white card - I love the textured look you get.  I ran some coordinating card (pear pizzazz) through my bigshot with the 'thanks' embossilit die and then cut out just the thanks word part to use.  Add one of the daisies from the paper daisies pack and it was almost done.  The final step was to pile up some punched card circles in the centre of the flower, and give them a glaze of crystal effects (for the glue and the shine!)

Waiting for the crystal effects to dry was the longest step of this card, but well worth it, as it makes such a pretty embellishment.  The finished card looked so pretty I made up a couple more in Peach Parfait and Daffodil Delight, to add to the collection.

A Pirate Card for an Older Boy

Projects for boys can sometimes be a bit of a challenge, but I have found that a pirate theme is always well received.  The long retired 'Ahoy Matey' stamp set has always been a favourite of mine.  The images are fun to colour, and we have made some fun things with it.  They do tend to be better suited for younger children though, so I was pleased when SU gave us the 'Beware Pirates' stamp set that has an 'older' look to it, and was even happier when I finally got around to having a play with it!

For this card I wanted to use 'Not Quite Navy' for the main stamped image, and consulted my colour coach for an easy colour combo that would work with that - More Mustard and Cajun Craze (so easy!)

After recently spending an afternoon with my talented friend and upline Rachael Knight, I am feeling inspired to get my Big Shot out more often, and embossing folders are such a quick and easy way to transform a plain piece of cardstock.  For this card I gave the cajun card mat some texture using the Square Lattice embossing folder.  If you turn it on an angle the crosses become 'x's which are just perfect for a pirate theme (hopefully you can see them in this closeup).

My boys both gave this card the thumbs up so I am thinking I might need to make a few more for the birthday card stash!

Something Old, Something New...

something that has come out of retirement, and of course, something blue!  No, nothing to do with a wedding, just a card I made to show you some of what is in the new catalogue.  Can you guess which is which?

Something old (Carried over from the last catalogue):

Fifth Avenue Floral Stamp Set (the flower on this card is made from several flowers that have been stamped, cut up, and reassembled)

Cropadile (the little circles in the centre of the flower were punched using the cropadile) and 1" circle punch (for the curves at the end of the greeting)

Something New:

Scallop Trim Border Punch (I used it all around the outside of the mat, and I love it!)

Something that has come out of retirement, or back from a mini:

River Rock  - an old 'in color' that is making a comeback - yay!

Teeny Tiny Sentiments Stamp Set - back from the latest mini catalogue - a very versatile greeting set.

Something Blue:

Baja Breeze - an 'in color' from the last catalogue, that has returned as one of the revamped core color range.

Now, while I love this new border punch, I must confess that my favourite part of this card is the flower.  I love the texture it has, with a few of the petals turned up, and that lumpy, bumpy flower centre.  Worth the effort of cutting out all those flowers anyway!

More Big Bold Birthday for Boys

So here is the second card of the 'Big Bold Birthday' stamp set pair:

Much the same idea as the first, but just the one candle this time, and some ribbon thrown in, just because it matches so well! Best of all, these cards would work well with any colour combination, and for birthdays of all ages.

I feel a production line coming on!

Big Bold (Boys) Birthday Card

I have long been a fan of the 'Big Bold Birthday' stamp set.  I suspect that when the new SU catalogue comes out this stamp set will not be there, which is a shame because it really is so versatile.  After all - everyone loves presents and cakes right?!  It was perfect for a birthday card for Campbell's friend last week, complete with just the right number of candles on the cake:

I crimped a tiny scrap of 'Good Morning Sunshine' patterned paper to make the cupcake paper, and that was also the inspiration for the colours used.  Some glitter on top of the cupcake and of course those candles, add a bit of sparkle (just enough to make it fancy, but not enough to make it girly - heaven forbid!) and some quick wheeling with the Happy Happy Birthday jumbo wheel helped to finish the card off.  

We wrapped the gift in plain paper and left the card out of an envelope (hanging it from some coordinating ribbon instead) to show it off.  The boys approved, so I decided to make another similar card while I was on a roll, to put away for the next party.  I'll post that one tomorrow.

You & Moi Scallop Notes

Okay, so one last valentine project to share - this time the little cards I made for my children.  I used a couple of the stamps from the 'You & Moi' set and the handy little scallop note cards that are in the current Summer Mini Catalogue. 

 

I stuck with baja blue for the boys, with a not so frilly stamp, and for Bridie - pink pirouette and a flower, of course.  

Both designs had a bit of silver thrown in as well, the image was popped up with dimensionals, and I added a little loop of ribbon to fancy it up.  I extended the front of the card with an extra white scallop, and finished it off with some more silver card.

Bridie asked if she could keep it forever?  Of course you can baby girl!

Valentines for Bridie's Friends and Teachers

This week the kids have all had Valentines parties at school, which of course requires them to have valentines to share with their classmates.  Although it would have been a lot easier to go out and buy some (we needed quite a few after all!), what is the point of having a cupboard full of crafty stuff if you don't use it?  So the production line was started up again, and 78 valentines cards were made.  

First up were Bridie's.  Initially she wanted them to have cars for boys, and flowers for girls, and all sorts of different colours.  The potential for tears (from Bridie and her friends) if they didn't get the 'right' colour or design convinced me to convince her, that maybe we could stick with birds instead. After all, the friend sentiment in the 'cheep talk' stamp set would be perfect for preschool valentines cards, and those little birds really are cute: 

 

We broke out some card from the retired pile (because kids aren't worried about a little detail like that!) and satisfied Bridie's desire for different colours, by alternating a pomegranate mat on a wasabi card, with a wasabi mat on a pomegranate card.  The stamped card front was the same for all the cards.  She was pretty happy with the results, and quickly set to the serious business of signing all those valentines:

We had had plans for some baking for the teachers,  but didn't quite get there.  With all the valentines we were making, as well as Hayden's birthday this week (and  the associated baking that went with that) we decided to go for a quick and easy little bag of chocolates instead.

  

We wrapped some Raspberry Tart patterned paper around the chocolates to pretty them up, put a matching little topper on the bag, and finished it off with one of the clever flowers that Megan McDonald has been inspiring us all with this week.

I think I will have to keep a stash of these chocolates hidden away for those times we need a quick little gift.  It is easy enough to choose a paper to suit (pretty and girly or all masculine and tough) - and who doesn't like chocolate? (or know someone to share it with?)

A flower for all occasions

At the Stampin' Up Convention last year, I was fortunate to have my achievements recognised.  Although I missed the opportunity to be congratulated in person by Shelli Gardner - the co-founder of SU (a small matter of me not actually being at the Convention in Canberra!) I did still get my name up on the big screen, and later, received congratulations, a pin, and the stampset 'A Flower for all Seasons'  I am a little ashamed to admit, that although I have often admired the stamps, I have only just now gotten around to using them.

As I sat using them I thought to myself that these really are the kind of stamps you could use for any occasion (and then I realised - duh - that will be why they are called a flower for all seasons).  After using most of my brain cells figuring that out, I decided I should probably keep the cards easy, so this is what I came up with:

I went with a kraft card base again - I really love the way you can pair this card up with any other colour combo, and it will look good.  I wanted to keep the embellishments to a minimum, and use up some of my card scraps that have been accumulating, so decided to go with a couple of card strips, with a scallop edge to one of them.  I ended up making a set of them, using three of the four different images, and several different sentiments (birthday, thanks, get well soon) and colour combos:

Best of all, these images, while perhaps not so great for those male recipients, are perfect for girls of all ages - so my girly birthday card pile has increased with the addition of these quick and easy cards.   That has got to be a good thing, right?!

Another fun pirate card

Well I said I was having fun, and there has been a parade of pirates here this week, but I think this card is my favourite (along with the circle one from the beginning of the week).  I have really loved using the jumbo map wheel that coordinated with the pirate set (sadly both now retired), and figuring out different ways to have it hidden away, but still ready for a pirate to consult - interactive style cards!

This card definitely falls into the 'hand deliver only' category, because it really wouldn't work in an envelope!

 

I attached the map to the card base at one end using eyelets, and then threaded some hemp twine through so it can be rolled up and tied to hold it in place.  Then it can be easily unrolled and consulted whenever the pirate needs to check his treasure hunting progress.

      

My little pirates approved anyway - boys and girl, and my stash of kids card is growing.  Although I think that next week I might have to work on some more girly cards, or at least, pirates wearing pink!

More Last minute Holiday Cards

What happens when you sit down with the 'Occasionally' stamp set, some kraft card, assorted coloured card scraps and matching inks and ribbons, and your trusty crimper, in order to make just a couple of last minute  holiday cards?  There is a chance you may get a little carried away, and end up with something like this:

Not just Christmas cards, but cards for all occasions (and this photo was taken after we had given away a couple of the cards already).

After stamping the images on white card, it was a quick job to punch them out with a square punch, mat them on a kraft square made using the bigger square punch, and then attach those to some crimped card, using stampin' dimensionals.  Most of the cards got some coordinating ribbon to finish them off, but a few were left more simple. 

For the holiday cards I made little sets of cards in a couple of different sizes, and some without the ribbon.  They all had the stamped image on the crimped coordinating card though.

 

The snowman, Christmas Tree, and Candy Cane images were especially good for these cards.  And when I had more than enough of those, I couldn't help myself.  I had to keep going with some other occasion cards like these birthday ones:

I like the fact that this quick and easy design could be used for boys or girls of all ages, just with a quick change of colour.  I especially like them with the wider ribbon, but if you didn't have coordinating ribbon you could use a strip of card and perhaps stamp on a greeting instead.  Use some softer colours and swap the images and you have baby and first birthday cards:

You probably get the idea by now.  Quite a productive morning on the card making front - not so much the bed making and laundry!  Never mind that though, making cards was much more fun, and best of all, if you want to make some for yourself, the 'Occasionally' Stamp Set that I used here is one of several that are currently part of an inventory clearance sale, and is discounted 50% for a limited time.

  To see the full list of discounted products, (with discounts from 25-50%) you can click here, or see the link on my sidebar over there on the right.

The Perfect 'last minute' Christmas Card

Did you have plans to make your own Christmas cards this year, but time got away on you?  It isn't too late (says the person who hasn't sent too many Christmas cards for a few years now - oops!)  This is a card that was my favourite last year, and which, thanks to its quick and easy nature, is a favourite this year too.

Not only is it quick and easy (I timed myself making one and it took two minutes, including mucking around with the stamp-a-ma-jig to make sure the greeting was straight), economical (with just two layers of card and no extra embellishments) and perfect for mass production, it also has a wow factor that defies it's simplicity. 

The trickiest bit is preparing the template for the background.  I chose an oval, but any shape will do.  Once you have your template you can reuse it over and over.  I made the outside dimensions of my template card the same size as the vanilla piece that goes on the front of the Christmas card, so that I don't have to think too hard to get it in the right place.  Fast and simple is what it is all about!  In order to keep the template in place while you are working use a temporary adhesive.  I used my two way glue pen, and left it for a few minutes to become tacky and repositional.  This allows you to remove the template when you are done, without damaging the card underneath.  

If you use the two way glue pen remember that when the glue is blue - when you first put it on - it acts as a permanent adhesive, but if you wait a few minutes it dries off and will appear clear, and the adhesive will be temporary rather than permanent.

Now, it is a little tricky to see in this terrible photo, but the next step is really easy.  I used a piece of stampin' sponge to lightly sponge some mellow moss ink around the inside of my oval template.  It doesn't look too flash at this stage, but trust me, when you remove the template you will be wowed yourself.  If it isn't dark enough for you, you can always reattach the template and do a little more sponging.

When the sponging is done, and without removing the template, I used the line of trees stamp (Lovely as a Tree), inked with mellow moss ink, and stamped off gently (I want these trees to be a subtle background) then stamped onto my vanilla card.

Now the background is done, and you can remove the template.  I used Always Artichoke to stamp the single tree, and the greeting (from the Sincere Salutations stamp set) with help from my Stamp-a-ma-jig to make sure the greeting was straight.  Attach to a Mellow Moss card base and you are done.  Well, you could always add a bit of glitter to those branches if you have more than two minutes to spare.

Then comes the hard bit.  Actually sending it to someone!

The Grown Up Version

So for the grown up version of this card (and this, the original one) I put the bug stamps away, and decided instead to use the big flower from the Eastern Blooms set.  The design of the card was exactly the same again, just the colours (this time tangerine tango, more mustard, so saffron and old olive) and stamps changed, and this time I left off the brads.

The tango squares were punched from crimped card, and I used the mat pack to piece around the edges of the mustard squares.  To add even more textural interest I added a fun centre to those flowers.  First I used my cropadile and punched holes in a scrap of saffron card.  Next I gathered up all those little punched circles.  They do come out with a slight bend in them, and usually I would flatten them off, but for this project I decided to leave them as they were, to help with the texture.  I decided that crystal effects would be the best adhesive to use and initially planned to put a blob on the centre of the flowers and then cover it with the saffron circles.  I discovered that although they were holding fine, it wasn't as easy to stack them all up in a pile, the way I wanted.  Since I was making this up as I went along anyway (are you surprised?!) I decided to turn these squares into textured, glossy tiles instead, by covering that little pile of saffron circles, and the rest of the stamped square too, in crystal effects.  This way you can still see and touch the textured centre of the flowers, with no risk of anything falling off, and the high gloss centre doesn't look out of place, because the entire square looks the same.

I really like the way the tiles, and indeed the entire card has turned out, and will definitely be adding this to my list of techniques to use again.

A Girly Birthday Card

For me, the thing that always takes the longest, is figuring out the initial design of a project.  Sometimes I have a clear idea in my mind, and other times I just wing it and see what happens.  And then there are times like this, where I recycle a design I have used before.  This buggy boy birthday card is still one of my favourites so I decided to do it again - but this time with a girly look to it.

Apart from changing one of the bug stamps (all still from the Bugs and Kisses stamp set), and of course the colours, I decided to keep the rest of the card - the placement of the different pieces and the extra embellishments (brads, crimped squares and paper pierced squares), exactly the same as with that first card.  That meant I didn't spend time shuffling bits around and trying to decide what looked best (I can spend a LOT of time shuffling things around!)

After my recent successful outings with the bold brights I decided to keep it up, but must confess, I think I prefer them in smaller doses.  Nevermind.  I am hoping that it will still appeal to a little girl, even with all those bugs on it - oops, I mean big girl.

 Speaking of big girls, I have also made a more grown up version. No bugs this time, but still some fun elements, so that will be the next post.

And now a Christmas Carousel Note card.

While I was playing around making this carousel note card, I got to thinking that those carousel notes did look a little bit like a mighty big Christmas ornament, and how that could work well for a Christmas card.  So that became part two of my carousel note challenge.  To add to the fun I decided to work with a non-christmas stamp set that is another of my favourites, and which I know a lot of you have yourselves - the ever lovely Baroque Motifs.  (I should point out here that the greeting came from the 'Occasional Greetings' set and not Baroque Motifs).  I have probably said it before but this is such a versatile set - beautiful for backgrounds or the main focus, and any and all occasions - including Christmas.  I used a Ruby Red carousel note, and teamed it up with some kiwi kiss, for a more traditional red and green christmas look.

This time round I decided to work with just one of the carousel notes as the front of the card, and then attached a more conventionally shaped card behind it.  This way you get the scalloped circle look, but can still stand the card up easily, a bit like an easel. 

After stamping up the vanilla circle with the vines, flowers and greeting, I sponged the edge of the circle with kiwi kiss ink, and then used a two way glue pen to add a dash of diamonds to the flowers - Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without some glitter.  It doesn't show up so well here, but in real life - it's sparkly!

The top of the 'ornament' was made from a round tab punch of kiwi card, folded in half then adhered to the top of the carousel note (purely decorative this time, not an actual hinge like on the last card).  The finishing touch was a kiwi kiss ribbon bow at the top of the ornament, and some stamping and sponging on the inside of the card.

This really was a quick and easy card to make, but I think it looks really special, and definitely a little out of the ordinary. This card could even double as an ornament - just by threading some linen thread, or even some more ribbon, through the folded round tab at the top.  Might not work so well on those really little trees though!

Carousel Note Birthday Card

Confession time.  I love the 'Carousel Notes' and have used them for a few different projects, such as this cute handbag mini album, but I don't think I have used them to make a card yet.  Not one that I remember anyway!   So I decided it was time for a new challenge to myself, and that was simply to make cards using Carousel Notes. (What's a carousel note?  It's a nice big (approx 15cm across) scalloped circle of card, complete with nice square choc chip envelopes,  just crying out to be loved!)

I'm not sure why I haven't done this earlier, as they are perfect for a card with a difference, without the need for complicated or time consuming fancy folds etc.  For this card I decided to use two of the baja breeze carousel notes, and team it up with a splash of kiwi kiss...  

 I stamped some flowers on a circle of white card using baja blue and kiwi kiss inks, and then added the sentiment in Kiwi Kiss.  The edge of the circle was then sponged with the blue ink, (although this was later hidden!) and I also sponged lightly over the blue flowers.

To help tie in the kiwi kiss inking a little better, I decided to add a circle of kiwi kiss card as a mat.  Now is when I confess, that in my haste to cut that circle the ends of the cut didn't quite meet up.  Normally this probably wouldn't even be noticable, but when you lay it between two other circles it is kind of hard to miss!  Since I didn't have a definite plan of where this card was headed (did you sense that already?) I decided to do a little experimenting before cutting another mat - hoping to hide that slightly imperfect circle shape, and add some textural interest. I wet the edge of the card and then rolled and scrunched, in the same way I had on this layout, and then left it a few minutes to dry.

I am really enjoying the resulting contrast between those elegant flowers and that rough and bumpy border.  A little rhinestone brad was the finishing touch before attaching it all to the carousel note.  I then lightly sponged the edge of the carousel note with some of the kiwi kiss ink to help tie it all together.

I used the round tab punch to make a 'hinge' to attach the two carousel notes, making it into a card, and then added another stamped white circle to the inside to finish it off.

Recipe for this card:
Carousel Notes (1 pack includes 4 each of Kiwi Kiss, Ruby Red and Baja Breeze)

 Kiwi Kiss and Whisper White Card
Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze Ink
Fifth Avenue Floral stampset
A Little Birthday Cheer stampset
Rhinestone Brad (circle ice)
Round Tab Punch

Little stamps with lots of layers

I haven't quite finished with my challenge to use those little image stamps.  This time round it is all about one teeny tiny stamped image, and then lots of layers to make that little image appear bigger than it is.  I really liked how I got to use lots of different tools and techniques and yet the cards still have a nice, clean and simple look to them.

The first one made use of a handy little 'love note' and matching envelope - working with the small image/small project idea. 

The heart was stamped and embossed with gold, to make it that little bit more special, then layered on gold card to really give it some sparkle. I used stampin' dimensionals to attach it to a layer of white card, and then attached it all to a crimped red layer before attaching to the card front. 

Just to show you how this idea works with more standard sized cards, here it is again.  This time I added another layer of gold to seperate the crimped red from the red card base, and added an embossed gold greeting. 

I really like the textural interest of the embossing, raised layers, and crimped card, as well as that metallic shine.  It all works together to give the feel of one larger image, rather than just that original little heart.  Why is it though, that when it comes to embossing, I can never just look, I always have to touch it too?

Next I used the same idea to make this birthday card. 

No embossing this time.  The image was stamped with basic gray ink and then coloured using pastels (chalks) and a blender pen.  I did keep the crimped layer, and for added textural interest I roughed up the edges of the other layers (no fancy tools needed -  fingernails work fine!) 

Add some coordinating embellishments, such as these brads, stamp a greeting, and the birthday card is done.  What I like best is that this card could work for boys or girls, of almost any age. - very handy! You don't always find a card like that!

And did you notice - all bold brights again (and this time it wasn't on purpose!)  I am starting to think that the images from the short and sweet stampset, and bold brights colours, were made for each other!

Making use of those little image stamps

In an attempt to get back into the crafting groove I have been setting myself some challenges.  The latest one is to make use of those little image stamps that you often find in a set.  In particular, I am looking at the great little 'short and sweet' stamp set.  This is a popular, value for money stamp set, but I find I am most often using the greetings, and not often the little images that go along.

So, over the next little bit I am hoping to share a few ideas using these little stamps.   The first, and easiest idea is of course to use those little stamps on little projects - gift tags and smaller cards.  The cute little 'Love Notes' (card and matching envelope) are the perfect size.  The second idea, and one I also used for these cards, is repetition.  Use that little image more than once, to make it look like a bigger image.  I used the stamp-a-ma-jig to help with even spacing.  Take that little flower and stamp it out nine times, and this is what you get:

This time I also set myself the challenge of using only the bold bright colours.  I do have a couple that I use often, but must confess, overall I am not so much of a bold brights girl (and in fact, I discovered that a couple of my BB ink spots hadn't even been opened before these cards!)  I am pleased to say that I have used every single bold bright colour in these cards - and I actually really like them!  The fact that the image is a small outline one, means that you get a nice splash of colour, but lots of white also helps to tone it down.  That's what I think anyway - what do you think?

Best of all, this idea works just as well on a more conventional sized card (and look - the last of those bold bright colours!)

Campbell's thank you card

First a little bit of background.  Security at school is pretty strict.  The external doors are locked.  You have to be 'buzzed in' at the main entrance (we're still trying to get our heads round it all).  Before school the kids line up in their classes, and the teachers open various doors for them to come inside.  Yesterday Campbell was a little leisurely joining the line, and the door closed before he got there.  Normally that wouldn't be a problem, he would knock and they would let him in, but yesterday an alarm was going off at that end of the building, and the knocking went unheard.  Poor Campbell was not sure what to do, and feeling rather upset.  Locked out of school! Then a nice girl came along, and helped him.  Taking him down to the front office, so he could join his class.  Turns out, that nice girl, also happened to be his teachers daughter.  He was very impressed to find that out, and decided he should make her a card.  Who am I to argue with that!

After a brief conversation about what girls might like on their cards (hugs and kisses apparently - look out ladies!) he suggested that flowers may also work, and perhaps we could use the punches. So that is what we did, and this is what he came up with. 

He has obviously spent a bit of time watching Mum, as he had a very clear idea of what he wanted - right down to the layering of flowers, and 'those sparkly things' in the middle.  I especially like the filigree flower on the pink flower (and can hardly believe Campbell used them before I did!)

When it came to the inside I did make the suggestion that a pop-up card might be fun.  We stuck with the flowers, and I think it turned out really well.  I especially like the bigger flowers he suggested we add to the background.  His theory was 'she won't even notice they are not part of the pop-up Mum', and you know what?  I think he was right.

As for the hugs and kisses?  He didn't forget those!  They were added at the bottom, and double as maths homework too - 'look Mum - it's a pattern - x, o, x, o'   Homework has never been so much fun!